MOBILE, Ala. – The South Alabama track and field program will send nine athletes to the NCAA East First Round, scheduled for May 28–31 at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida.
Six men and three women qualified for South Alabama in the regional meet, which includes the top 48 athletes from the East Region in each event. Of the nine Jaguars, only Kendal White and Ava Wheaton have previously qualified for NCAA Regionals.
White is coming off a Sun Belt Conference championship and a school-record performance in the 400-meter hurdles. He is tied for the program's highest regional ranking, entering the meet at No. 9 with a season-best time of 50.02 seconds.
Reuben Booysen, also ranked ninth in the region, qualified in the javelin with a throw of 72.45 meters (237 feet, 8 inches) earlier this season. Booysen captured the Sun Belt title in the event.
Freshman Jackson Laughlin joins Booysen in the javelin after posting a mark of 64.24 meters (210-9) at Southern Miss, good for 35th in the East.
Freshman Jadon Thomason qualified in the 110-meter hurdles with a school-record time of 13.87 seconds, placing him 37th regionally.
Fellow freshman Will Frederick cleared 5.31 meters (17-5) in the pole vault at the South Alabama Last Chance Meet to rank 21st in the region.
Freshman Terek Logan also qualified in the pole vault and enters the meet ranked 46th after clearing 5.18 meters (17-0).
On the women's side, Iyana Johnson earned her spot in the hammer throw with a top mark of 59.88 meters (196-5), ranking her 28th in the regional, which secured her a silver medal at the Sun Belt outdoor championships.
Flora Dupans qualified in the discus with a personal-best throw of 50.34 meters (165-2) at the Southern Miss Invitational.
Wheaton, a returning regional qualifier, secured the 36th-best mark in the javelin this season with a throw of 46.66 meters (153-1), earning her all-conference honors at the Sun Belt championships.
Calli Stokes had a qualifying mark in the javelin but will not compete.
South Alabama NCAA East First Rounds Qualifiers
Men
400-Meter Hurdles
9. Kendal White: 50.02
Javelin
9. Reuben Booysen: 72.45 meters
35. Jackson Laughlin: 64.24 meters
110-Meter Hurdles
37. Jadon Thomason: 13.87
Pole Vault
21. Will Frederick: 5.31 meters
46. Terek Logan: 5.18 meters
Women
Hammer Throw
28. Iyana Johnson: 59.88 meters
Javelin
36. Ava Wheaton: 46.66 meters
Discus
46. Flora Dupans: 50.34 meters
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